Department for Transport

Blue Badge Scheme

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the task group, announced on 15 June 2019, intended to improve the consistency of council enforcement to tackle fraud and misuse, and to improve awareness of which groups are eligible for Blue Badges was set up; who are the members of that group; when they estimate it will report; and what plans they have to publish its findings.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Work to improve consistency of local authority enforcement, to tackle fraud and misuse of the Blue Badge Scheme and to improve awareness of eligibility, has now been incorporated into the scope of a wider, longer-term project to identify potential improvements to the Blue Badge Scheme as a whole.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have established with the EU, if any, to share data on (1) vehicle number plates, (2) vehicle owners, and (3) vehicle keepers, from EU member states, in order to enable UK enforcement authorities to impose penalties or charges relating to the use of such vehicles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Following the end of the Transition Period, the UK has no formal arrangements with the EU or Member States for the automatic exchange of vehicle/driver information on road traffic offences. However, UK authorities may choose to make enquiries of EU motorists using the 1959 Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance, which allows UK officials to make requests and seek information where criminal activity has occurred. Any information received through this mechanism will inform further enforcement activity. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains provisions for the fast and effective exchange of vehicle registration data in relation to criminal investigations.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons given by (1) UK Research and Innovation, and (2) the Medical Research Council, for (a) rejecting, and (b) accepting, applications for grant assistance from researchers developing COVID-19 vaccinations.

Lord Callanan: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), including the Medical Research Council, invited applications for research related to COVID-19, including for research into vaccines, through funding routes such as the joint UKRI-Department of Health and Social Care rapid response call, as well as the UKRI rapid response rolling call. The requirements and guidelines for these were published on the respective application pages and decisions were made under a peer review process and in coordination with the Vaccine Taskforce.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage investment in (1) so-called 'Wave 2', and (2) other future generations of, vaccines for COVID-19.

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage grant funders to support so-called 'Wave 2' vaccines in development.

Lord Callanan: The current overall UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) portfolio of COVID-19-related grants, including awards supported by Innovate UK, includes vaccine projects that provide greater diversity of approaches than for the first generation of vaccines developed. Details can be found on the UKRI website. UKRI will continue to review ongoing needs in this area with the Vaccine Taskforce.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government to whom (1) the Medical Research Council, and (2) UK Research and Innovation, are accountable for decisions taken to support research into COVID-19 vaccines.

Lord Callanan: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) was established under the Higher Education Research Act 2017. The Medical Research Council is a council of UKRI. The UKRI Board is accountable to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for the delivery of its functions.

Electricity Generation

Lord Goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many gigawatts of electricity they forecast will be required in 2030; and from what sources such electricity will be generated.

Lord Callanan: The table below shows projection of UK electricity generation (terawatt hours) and capacity (gigawatts) from all power producers by source for the year 2030. Capacity, GWGeneration, TWhCoal00Coal and natural gas CCS00Oil10Natural gas3767Nuclear655Other Thermal10Renewables62176Interconnectors (net imports for generation)1949Storage (net output for generation)4-1Total130346The figures are based on central estimates of economic growth and fossil fuel prices and contains all agreed policies where decisions on policy design are sufficiently advanced to allow robust estimates of impact as at August 2019. Further details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-and-emissions-projections. Figures provided are extracted from BEIS Energy and Emissions Projections (EEP) 2019 Annex J, Total electricity generation by source and Annex L, Total electricity generating capacity.

Licensed Premises: Coronavirus

Lord Smith of Hindhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to include non-profit private members’ clubs as a qualifying category for the Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs; and if not, why not.

Lord Callanan: The Christmas Support Payment was put in place specifically to help pubs without a significant food offering, whose businesses were severely impacted by the local restrictions over the festive period. The scheme eligibility period ended on 28 December 2020 and the closing date for applications is 12 January 2021.

Green Homes Grant Scheme

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 4 January (HL11621), what is the absolute number of TrustMark registered businesses now certified to install insulation measures in park homes under the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme; and where those installers are located.

Lord Callanan: As of 10:00 on 7 January, we can confirm there were 8 businesses which are TrustMark registered and certified to install insulation measures in park homes under the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme. TrustMark registered installers can offer their services in multiple locations. Every Local Authority in England has at least one TrustMark registered park homes installer available, 126 have at least two and five Local Authorities have at least three.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many GP practices have refused to participate in COVID-19 vaccinations.

Lord Bethell: NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned the general practice COVID-19 vaccination service in line with agreed national terms and conditions, as an enhanced service. Individual general practices opted in to delivering COVID-19 vaccinations, coming together in primary care network groupings to administer the vaccine as ‘local vaccination services’.As of 10 January 2021, 785 local vaccination services had been stood up to deliver the vaccine. The number of individual practices that have and have not opted into the enhanced service is not collected or held centrally.Where there are gaps in provision, NHS England will commission additional providers such as community pharmacy, hospital hubs, and mass vaccination centres to provide COVID-19 vaccinations. The first community pharmacy sites opened in the week commencing 11 January 2021. As more vaccines become available, there will be increased flexibility in local delivery.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Hannay of Chiswick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide recipients of COVID-19 vaccinations with a certificate that is recognisedbothnationally and internationally.

Lord Bethell: The careful and accurate recording of vaccination status is incredibly important to ensure that priority cohorts are offered both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and to ensure robust surveillance systems are in place to support patient safety. The National Health Service’s National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) is the national register of COVID-19 vaccinations. At the point that someone receives their COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccinating team will record it and this information will go onto the NIMS system and onto a patient’s general practitioner record. As with other vaccination programmes, a vaccine record card will be issued to patients with the relevant details about the vaccine including the date of their vaccination and their vaccine type. This does not constitute an immunity passport and will not be used as a form of identification.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government towhat extent (1) an appropriate person, or (2) the appropriate authorities, can monitor what will happen if a person only receives one of the two doses required of a COVID-19 vaccine under the vaccination protocols; and what the process will be for following up on those people.

Lord Bethell: General practice providers are responsible under the Enhanced Service Specification: COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 for using existing local systems to undertake local call and recall. They use nationally determined text where available, identifying and inviting all eligible patient cohorts on their registered list to book vaccination appointments. Primary Care Network sites will be responsible for checking that all eligible patients have an appointment and recall invitation or re-contacting the patients where they have not. A booking reminder will be sent before each appointment for dose one and dose two of the vaccine.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is (1) the total number, and (2) the percentage, of NHS COVID-19 tests that have recorded (a) positive, (b) negative, and (c) inconclusive, results for England; and how do such figures compare with (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) Wales, and (iii) Scotland.

Lord Bethell: The information is not held in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is (1) the total number, and (2) the percentage, of NHS COVID-19 tests that have recorded (a) positive, (b) negative, and (c) inconclusive, results foreach region of England.

Lord Bethell: The information is not held in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Walney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is (1) the total number, and (2) the percentage, of NHS COVID-19 tests that have recorded (a) positive, (b) negative, and (c) inconclusive, results foreach local authority area in England.

Lord Bethell: The information is not held in the format requested.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding they are providing for research into COVID-19 vaccines for medically extremely vulnerable groups.

Lord Bethell: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research which is funding a wide portfolio of research on COVID-19 vaccination, including allocating over £50 million specifically to develop COVID-19 vaccines at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.In addition, UK Research and Innovation is providing around £2 million to support research on vaccine responses in groups of immune-supressed individuals, including those with inflammatory disorders, high risk cancer patient groups, and patients with severe kidney and liver disease.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Coronavirus

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they used to determine the London boroughs in which primary schools would not open at the scheduled beginning of term in January.

Baroness Berridge: On 29 December, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that primary schools in 50 local authorities across London and the South East would remain closed to all but children of critical workers and vulnerable children for the first two weeks of term. 23 of London’s 33 boroughs were included in this initial decision. On 1 January, in light of the rapidly changing situation, we extended these restrictions to cover all 33 London Boroughs.In considering which areas may be suitable for primary restrictions under our contingency framework, the department worked closely with Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, NHS Test & Trace and the Department for Health and Social Care using the most recent data available. We used a balanced approach rather than simple threshold cut-offs and took all factors into account, but with particular focus on: very high rates of infection; particularly high increases in seven-day case rates; and intelligence about pressure on the NHS.These were not easy decisions to make, but they were made according to the best clinical advice and the criteria set out in the COVID-19 Winter Plan, which are:- Case detection rates in all age groups;- Case detection rates in all the over 60s;- The rate at which cases are rising or falling;- Positivity rate; and- Pressure on the NHS.The national lockdown announced on 4 January replaced the restrictions that had been active in some primary schools under the contingency framework. We will be continually reviewing the restrictions on schools, colleges and universities to ensure that children can return to school when the pressures are easing on the NHS.These decisions do not suggest that schools and colleges are no longer safe places. Instead, limiting attendance is about reducing the number of contacts that all of us have with people in other households.

Educational Institutions: Coronavirus

Lord Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) students, (2) teachers, and (3) other staff, at (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, and (c) further education institutions, have been reported as having COVID-19 since 31 January 2020.

Baroness Berridge: The department collects data on the number of pupils who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 on a daily basis. This data is published from this collection at both national and local authority levels as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. Data is published from 9 September 2020, but prior to 12 October 2020 information on pupils who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 was not comprehensively collected. This data is collected at school level, not pupil level.As part of the publication, ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak’, staff COVID-related absence data has been included in today’s release.This data is as reported directly by schools via the department’s daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. Further detail on this, from data owned elsewhere in government such as by Public Health England, can be found within the coronavirus in the UK dashboard: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga=2.91108568.335840232.1603021384-1347302696.1578321854, national COVID-19 surveillance reports: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports, and coronavirus infection survey pilot statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/16october2020.ONS has published results from the first round of the COVID-19 Schools Infections Survey (SIS), covering 3 November – 19 November, investigating prevalence levels among primary and secondary school students and staff. The SIS survey link presents a summary of estimates, with further data contained in the associated dataset. Comparisons between groups should be done with caution because of the small sample size. Results can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/covid19schoolsinfectionsurveyround1englandnovember2020.

Remote Education

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Berridge on 25 November 2020 (HL10314), what progress they have made with mobile network operators to provide access to free additional data to support remote education during periods of school closures.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Berridge on 25 November 2020 (HL10314), how many mobile network providers have responded to the request to provide a national service until the end of the academic year to assist disadvantaged families in gaining access to a free mobile data uplift to support remote education during periods of school closures.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional support they will make available during the period of school closures announced by the Prime Minister on 4 January to ensure that all children who are participating in remote learning have access to (1) laptops or tablets, (2) internet provision, and (3) online education platforms;and what steps they have taken to ensure that such children have access to such items without having to share access with siblings or working parents.

Baroness Berridge: The government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing over 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. Over 750,000 laptops and tablets had been delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities by the end of last week, nearly 140,000 of which had been delivered this month.Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions. Where sole access to a device is required to support continued education or care, we would expect schools and social care teams to allocate laptops or tablets on that basis.The department has also partnered with some of the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to disadvantaged families, further supporting remote learning where it is needed. Where schools identify a child from a disadvantaged family without internet access at home, they can now request free, additional data through the department’s Get Help with Technology service. We are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone. We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.The department has also provided over 54,000 4G wireless routers with free data for the academic year and we will continue to do so.The government is funding expert technical support to help schools set up secure user accounts for Google and Microsoft’s education platforms. Schools can apply for government funded support through The Key for School Leaders to get set up on one of two free to use digital education platforms: G Suite for Education or Office 365 Education. Since April 2020, 2.4 million accounts have been set up. The Key also provides case studies to demonstrate how schools are making the most of these platforms. The EdTech Demonstrator network is in place to promote effective use of devices, including ways they can be used to promote greater accessibility to the curriculum. The department is also supporting sector led initiatives such as the Oak National Academy. This pioneering enterprise has been created by 40 teachers from schools across England. The department has made £4.84 million available for the Oak National Academy both for the summer term of 2019-20, and for the 2020-21 academic year, to provide video lessons for Reception up to year 11. Specialist content for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is also available. Oak National Academy will remain a free optional resource for the academic year 2020-21. The BBC has also developed resources for families as part of a comprehensive education package, which is available on TV, BBC iPlayer and online at BBC Bitesize. A number of mobile network providers are also working together to make access to educational resources, such as Oak Academy and BBC Bitesize, free of mobile data charges.

Schools: Coronavirus

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of whether current guidelines for schools are sufficient to address the spread of (a) the strain of COVID-19 identified in the UK, and (b) the reported “South African” strain of COVID-19; (2) who has conducted and is conducting any such assessment; (3) whether they plan to provide any new safety measures to schools to address any such new strains of COVID-19; and (4) if so, when they plan to do so.

Baroness Berridge: The department has worked closely with Public Health England to develop a system of controls to reduce the risk of transmission in schools. When implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, these measures create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. The system of controls is reviewed continually in light of new evidence – including evidence about new variants. There is no evidence the new variant of the virus ‘VUI – 202012/01’, identified in the UK, causes more serious illness in either children or adults and there continues to be strong evidence to date that children and younger people (under 18 years) are much less susceptible to severe clinical disease than older people. There is no current evidence that it may be particularly dangerous to clinically extremely vulnerable children. We will continue to work closely with Public Health England and others to update our guidance based on the latest medical and scientific advice.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about reports that the Israeli Defence Force used tear gas and rubber-coated bulletsduring an incident at Palestinian medical facilities in Ramallah.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Whilst we have not made representations about these reports, we have publicly and privately expressed our longstanding concerns to the Israeli authorities about the use of live ammunition and excessive force by the Israel Defence Forces. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we advocate transparent investigations

Gaza: Hospitals

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of a bombing of a paediatric hospital in Gaza on 26 December 2020.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza. The UK condemns the firing of rockets at civilian populations and urges both sides to work together to promote peace. Any attacks targeted against civilians are unlawful and unjustifiable. All countries, including Israel, have a legitimate right to self-defence, and the right to defend their citizens from attack. In doing so, it is vital that all actions are proportionate, in line with International Humanitarian Law, and are calibrated to avoid civilian casualties. We continue to call upon Hamas and other terrorist groups to permanently end their incitement and rocket fire against Israel.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of increasing numbers of incidents of hit-and-run incidents by Israelis in the West Bank where limited action is takenagainst those causing such incidents.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns any incidence of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. We call on the Israeli authorities to thoroughly investigate every instance and allegation of crimes against protected persons in the West Bank, and where appropriate bring those responsible to justice.

Jerusalem: Religious Buildings

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of (1) increasing numbers of incursions by Israelis into the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and (2) Israeli police preventing Muslim worshippers from accessing that mosque for the duration of tours by Israelis.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Haram Al-Sharif / Temple Mount and Jerusalem hold particular significance for many groups around the globe, especially the three Abrahamic faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The UK is committed to working with all parties to maintain calm, avoid provocation and uphold the status quo to ensure the safety and the security of the Al Haram Al Sharif / Temple Mount and all who worship there.

Occupied Territories: Property

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the database published by the Yasser Arafat Foundation Private Ownership by Palestine Refugees Data on 24 February 2020; and what representations they intend to make to the government of Israel about the payment of reparations for any suchoccupied land.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have not made an assessment of the database published by the Yasser Arafat Foundation on 24 February 2020. The UK is clear that the status of Palestinian refugees must be agreed as part of wider peace negotiations. Until that time, the UK remains firmly committed to supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East. We support a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1515. The Minister for the Middle East and North Africa met with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK on 15 December and reiterated the UK's position on the Middle East Peace Process, including our commitment to a two state solution.

West Bank: Olives

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that olive trees are being destroyed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of the difficulties facing Palestinian olive growers. Attacks on olive groves are particularly painful to Palestinians given their status as a national symbol and the sole source of income for many Palestinian farmers. We have expressed our concerns to the Government of Israel and security officials about the destruction of olive trees and the prevention of access to them on a number of occasions. The UK condemns any incidence of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. We urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance and bring those responsible to justice.

Israel: Diplomatic Service

Lord Mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) local staff, and (2) UK nationals, have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in (a) the UK embassy in Tel Aviv, and (b) the UK consulate in Jerusalem.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Vaccinations received locally by staff in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem will have been arranged on a personal basis.

Palestinians: Coronavirus

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to support the provision of COVID-19 vaccines (1) to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and (2) Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK will deliver on its commitment to global equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC). The UK has supported the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) to be included in the COVAX. I most recently discussed this with the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki on 10th December and provided assurances that the UK will continue to coordinate closely with the Palestinian Authority (PA) so that vaccines are rolled out across the OPTs.UK officials regularly engage in dialogue with the Government of Israel, including on issues affecting Palestinian prisoners in Israel and to discuss co-operation with the PA. We have not yet raised the issue of vaccine provision to Palestinian prisoners but will monitor the situation accordingly.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 30 November 2020 (HL10390), when the Foreign Secretary will publish the outcome of thecross-Government review to review, appraise and finalise the UK's Official Development Assistance allocations for 2021.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary is currently in the process of concluding the cross-Government review which will agree ODA allocations for all government departments. The process intends to drive coherence across the entire UK ODA budget and ensure the UK acts as a force for good across the globe. The Foreign Secretary will communicate the outcome in due course.

Gibraltar: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Baroness Hooper: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement for Gibraltar.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: On 31 December the UK, working side by side with the Governments of Gibraltar and Spain, reached agreement on a political framework to form the basis of a separate treaty between the UK and the EU regarding Gibraltar. This covers issues of key importance to Gibraltar and the surrounding region, and the Governments of both the UK and Gibraltar judge that it provides a firm basis to safeguard Gibraltar's interests. The UK, Gibraltar, and Spain are committed to ensuring that cross-border arrangements can continue until a new treaty enters into force. We remain steadfast in our support for Gibraltar and its sovereignty.

Ministry of Defence

Mali: Armed Forces

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how long they expect members of the British Armed Forces to remain in Mali.

Baroness Goldie: The UK has forces in Mali deployed to the UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, and the French-led counter-terror operation, Operation BARKHANE. Beyond these operations, the UK also has a small Defence Section based in Bamako with a resident Defence Attaché (DA). As outlined in the recent Written Ministerial Statement HCWS622, the UK has committed to a three-year deployment to MINUSMA, with a review to be held at the 18-month point. The UK commitment to Operation BARKHANE was last extended in June 2020. The Government keeps this deployment under review on a continual basis to ensure it supports operations in the most effective way possible. The UK's resident DA, based in British Embassy Bamako, is in post for a two-year assignment. DA posts are reviewed on an annual basis.

Aircraft Carriers

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what witnesses with maritime warfare expertise they provided to the Public Accounts Committee's oral evidence session on delivering Carrier Strike on 28 September 2020.

Baroness Goldie: The witnesses to the Public Accounts Committee oral evidence session on Delivering Carrier Strike on 28 September 2020 were Sir Stephen Lovegrove, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Defence; Air Marshal Richard Knighton CB, Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for Carrier Enabled Power Projection and Deputy Chief of Defence Staff - Military Capability, Charlie Pate, Director General Finance; Sir Simon Bollom, Chief Executive Officer, Defence Equipment Services. Their full biography can be found at the links below. Sir Stephen Lovegrove https://www.gov.uk/government/people/stephen-lovegrove Charlie Pate https://www.gov.uk/government/people/charlie-pate Air Marshall Richard Knighton https://www.gov.uk/government/people/richard-knighton Sir Simon Bollom https://www.gov.uk/government/people/simon-bollom

France: Aircraft Carriers

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of France about their new planned nuclear strike carrier.

Baroness Goldie: We have had no formal discussions with the government of France specifically about its plans for a new nuclear strike carrier to replace the Charles de Gaulle in 2038.

Mali: Peacekeeping Operations

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many incidents involving civilian deaths in Mali have included the involvement of British soldiers.

Baroness Goldie: No incidents of civilian deaths have occurred in Mali that have involved British soldiers.

Mali: Peacekeeping Operations

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support, if any, the Royal Air Force provides to British soldiers assigned to operations in Mali.

Baroness Goldie: The UK supports two separate and distinct operations in Mali. We provide support to Operation BARKHANE, the French counter-terrorism operation, and MINUSMA, the UN peacekeeping mission to Mali. UK forces deployed to MINUSMA have access to a range of UN air assets which enable movement and logistics operations. At present, there are no Royal Air Force assets assigned to MINUSMA. A small number of RAF personnel are embedded within the UK's MINUSMA deployment. Three Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters are deployed to Mali in support of Operation BARKHANE.

Mali: Peacekeeping Operations

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many British soldiers (1) have been injured and (2) have died in operations in Mali since the UK's deployment of troops as part of the UN's peacekeeping mission.

Baroness Goldie: Between 1 December 2020 and 12 January 2021 one member of the UK Armed Forces has been injured whilst deployed as part of the Long Range Reconnaissance Group, Mali. This was an accidental injury inside the camp and not involving operational activity. No UK Service personnel have died during this time.

Department for Work and Pensions

Air Pollution

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthepotential benefits of the (1) procurement, and (2) deployment, of professional high-efficiency particulate air purifiers in enclosed workspaces.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: Workplace health and safety law requires employers to ensure an adequate supply of fresh air in the workplace and this has not changed during the pandemic. It is not the health and safety regulator’s role to identify the benefits of the procurement and deployment of any specific equipment. This should be considered as part of the risk assessment carried out for the workplace. To assist with these assessments, the Health and Safety Executive have issued guidance on ventilation during the pandemic at:https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to reduce the risk of flooding for communities that have already experienced flooding in the last 12 months.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: In the March 2020 Budget, Government provided additional funding of £120 million for 2020-21 to repair assets damaged in the 2019/2020 autumn and winter floods. In the last 12 months, the Environment Agency (EA) has completed around 20,000 inspections of flood assets that were damaged in the winter 2019/20 floods. The EA has a prioritised programme of repairs based on risk to lives and livelihoods underway. All of the flood defences damaged last year have either been repaired or have contingency plans in place to reduce the risk to their communities this winter. The EA has continued to build and maintain flood risk management assets and is on track to better protect 300,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion between 2015 and 2021. The EA has continued to engage with communities during the pandemic, sharing scheme updates and consulting with local residents in a COVID secure ways with the help of new technology. The EA’s Flood Action Campaign last Autumn helped ensure communities know how to check their flood risk and are better prepared using the three-point plan to PREPARE, ACT, SURVIVE. Over 1.4 million properties are signed up to receive free flood warnings. Following the flooding in winter 2019/2020, government announced Property Flood Resilience (PFR) repair grants of up to £5,000 in affected areas to help eligible homes, charities and businesses become more flood resilient. The repair grants apply to those affected in district or unitary authorities that have 25 or more severely flooded properties. The most recent figures (held by Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government) show that over 47 district or unitary councils with over 7000 properties are eligible in England for the November 2019 and February 2020 PFR repair schemes. In recognition of the challenges created by the coronavirus pandemic, both the 2019 and 2020 schemes have been extended by 9 months to give homeowners and businesses more time to carry out repairs and local authorities a greater period to process the grants. Local authorities on the November scheme now have until 31 December 2021 to recover their costs whilst local authorities on the February scheme have until 1 July 2022.

Water Companies: Standards

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish an annual league table to assess the performance of water companies in addressing water leaks and wastage.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Discover Water website publishes up to date records of water company performance on leakage. Details can be found in the attachment and at the following link: https://discoverwater.co.uk/leaking-pipes.

Nature Reserves and Wildlife Trusts: Finance

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial viability of wildlife trusts and nature reserves.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: My department constantly keeps under review the financial health of Defra-related sectors, including in relation to how sectors are faring in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.Environmental charities and their partners are able to apply to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, with the first successful applicants announced in December. The Government has committed a further £40m to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund in 2021/22, and my department will be announcing further details of a second round in the coming weeks.Environmental charities have also been able to benefit from wider government financial support for businesses during Covid-19, including the Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended to the end of April 2021.

Nature Reserves and Wildlife Trusts: Finance

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial viability of (1) wildlife trusts, and (2) nature reserves.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: My department constantly keeps under review the financial health of Defra-related sectors, including in relation to how sectors are faring in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.Environmental charities and their partners are able to apply to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, with the first successful applicants announced in December. The Government has committed a further £40m to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund in 2021/22, and my department will be announcing further details of a second round in the coming weeks.Environmental charities have also been able to benefit from wider government financial support for businesses during Covid-19, including the Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended to the end of April 2021.

Floods: Insurance

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of access to insurance for households affected by the 2019/2020 winter floods.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Following the November 2019 flooding in South Yorkshire, the Government commissioned an independent review of flood insurance, led by Amanda Blanc, former chair of the Association of British Insurers. The review, published on 5 November 2020, examined the level of insurance cover held by those affected in Doncaster, the barriers they may have faced in obtaining cover and whether there are any systemic issues in the provision of flood insurance.The report identifies that 95% of homeowners were able to confirm that they had both buildings and contents insurance. This compares with 94% of households at risk of flooding in Defra's national survey looking at the availability and affordability of flood insurance. This shows the sustained availability of home insurance for homeowners especially in this area of high flood risk. However, among homeowners who had insurance, 6% of buildings insurance policies did not cover flooding and 7% of contents insurance policies did not cover flooding.The review made 12 recommendations addressing the accessibility and affordability of flood insurance, which the Government is considering and will respond to in due course.

Fisheries: Sustainable Development

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote sustainable fishing.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: We recently published our Marine Strategy Part One assessment on the health and resilience of our marine ecosystems, including progress towards achieving our objective of good environmental status in UK waters. As an independent coastal state, we are committed to working closely with our partners including the EU, Norway and Faroe Islands to manage shared stocks sustainably and share fishing opportunities on a fair and scientific basis. The UK Government’s ambition is to set a gold standard for fisheries management to achieve sustainable fisheries safeguarding stocks and the environment for the long-term. At front and centre of the Fisheries Act is the set of fisheries objectives which will be followed by detailed policies in the Joint Fisheries Statement to deliver sustainable fishing. Underpinning this new framework is our commitment to sustainability – supporting future generations of fishermen while allowing our marine environment to thrive. It enshrines in law the Government’s manifesto commitments for sustainable fishing, restating our commitment to Maximum Sustainable Yield by including the ‘Sustainability Objective’ and ‘Precautionary Objective’ to achieve MSY. Furthermore, the Act contains a ‘Bycatch Objective’ seeking to reduce the wasteful practice of discarding fish; an ‘Ecosystem Objective’ to minimise and, where possible, eliminate negative impacts on marine ecosystems; and a new ‘Climate Change Objective’ which recognises and combats the impact of fishing on the health of our oceans and our planet. The Fisheries Act further adds powers to improve the protection of the wider marine environment around the UK and to enable the Marine Management Organisation to support marine improvement around the world.

Plants: Imports

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the conditions governing the importation of trees and shrubs, in particular those relating to disease control.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The agreement has secured the UK’s full autonomy over our plant health regime. This means we can continue to take a risk based approach, in line with WTO-SPS Agreement principles, to setting our plant health import requirements but these can now be tailored to the specific biosecurity needs of GB. In practice this means that we can introduce stronger import controls than those set by the EU when this is justified by a pest risk assessment undertaken in-line with relevant international standards. The agreement also means we can now apply controls to imports from the EU, something which was generally not possible whilst the UK was an EU member state or during the transition period. This means there will now be stronger regulation of plants and plant products imported from EU member states. For example, our current import requirements (which are now stronger than the EU’s) for the pest canker stain of plane will now be applied to imports from the EU in addition to imports from non-EU third countries.

Home Office

Immigration

Lord Horam: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the introduction of the points-based immigration system, what they estimate net migration levels in the UK will be in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, (3) 2023, (4) 2024, and (5) 2025.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not forecast future levels of net migration due to the considerable uncertainties involved, including movements by those such as British Citizens returning or migrating from the UK, which are not affected by UK immigration controls.The estimated impact on migration volumes of the recent changes to the immigration rules for students and skilled workers can be found in the associated published impact assessments, accessed through:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-documents-for-skilled-worker-immigration-ruleshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-707-10-september-2020Statement of Changes - Immigration Rules  (pdf, 5873.1KB)

Asylum: Children

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to the children of asylum seekers who are expelled from the UK following imprisonment for a criminal offence.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office’s immigration departments have a legal duty under section 55 of the 2009 Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act to have regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the discharge of its functions.Where the child of a foreign national offender is not being deported and remains with their other parent or guardian whose asylum claim in the UK is outstanding or being appealed, support may be provided under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in the provision of accommodation or cash subsistence in circumstances where the family would otherwise face destitution.In the event that the asylum-seeking parent or guardian is appeal rights exhausted and their dependents are 18 or over, they may qualify for ongoing support under section 4 of the Act if they face a practical barrier to leaving the UK.Where an asylum-seeking family have received refugee status, they would be eligible to apply for mainstream social security benefits and accommodation.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce the same space standards for all new housing as those agreed for housing constructed under Permitted Development Rights.

Lord Greenhalgh: We agree that the provision of adequate living space is vital to delivering healthy housing. The importance of this has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.We recognise in our National Design Guide the need for well-designed, healthy homes to provide a good standard and quality of internal space. And within national planning policy and guidance we set out that local authorities have the option to include the Nationally Described Space Standard in local planning policies, subject to demonstrating viability and need.Looking to the future, the forthcoming National Model Design Code will emphasise the ingredients for well-designed homes, including good space standards, that can be included in local design guides.

Neighbourhood Development Plans

Lord Stunell: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many neighbourhood plans are now in force; and where there are neighbourhood plans, how many additional homes in aggregate have been granted approval compared to the pre-existing local and district plans.

Lord Greenhalgh: While we do not formally monitor the production of neighbourhood plans, our records suggest that over 1000 neighbourhood plans have been adopted (made) since 2011. We do not hold data on how many additional homes in aggregate have been granted approval compared to current local plans. A recent study by the University of Reading of 141 neighbourhood plans found that they allocated 18,000 additional homes above those already allocated in adopted or emerging local plans and on sites with planning permission.

Flats: Insulation

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all mortgage repayments and interest payments for leasehold flats with unsafe cladding purchased under the Help to Buy Schemehave been reset to zero for those properties now valued at zero; andwhether all such repayments since the Grenfell Tower fire have been reimbursed.

Lord Greenhalgh: As at June 2020 NAO reported that Homes England estimates that 274 homes bought under the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were affected by ACM cladding, based on a comparison of Departmental building safety data and the Homes England Help to Buy loan accounts. Of these, 170 homes across 28 buildings have live loan accounts, with the remaining 104 homes having redeemed their loan.The redemption value of all Help to Buy: Equity Loans is based on the current market value of the property. A RICS surveyor will assess the market value in accordance with terms set out in the loan agreement.Homes England report that most of the buildings with live Help to Buy loans are well on the way to being fully remediated and therefore the progress made in building remediation means the consistent enforcement of the mortgage continues to be reasonable.

Neighbourhood Development Plans

Lord Stunell: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their White Paper,Planning for the Future: planning changes in England in 2020 and future reforms,published on 6 August 2020, what assessment they have made of the impact of those changes on the viability of the neighbourhood plans process.

Lord Stunell: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their White PaperPlanning for the Future: planning changes in England in 2020 and future reforms,published on 6 August 2020,what plans they have to safeguard the existing rights of neighbourhood plans to determine land use within their area.

Lord Stunell: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that local communities retain the ability to establish a new neighbourhood plan in accordance with the principles established in the Localism Act 2011.

Lord Greenhalgh: The white paper “Planning for the Future” sets out a package of proposals to secure better outcomes in terms of land for homes, beauty, and environmental quality, as well as processes which give greater certainty and speed for communities, councils and developers. The Government remains committed to neighbourhood planning, and the white paper sets out our intention to retain neighbourhood plans as part of the planning system. The consultation on these proposals is now closed and we will be using the feedback we have received to develop future neighbourhood planning policy.

Social Rented Housing: Electrical Safety

Lord Tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect theWorking Group onElectrical Safety in the social rented sector to commence.

Lord Tope: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the consultation on electrical safety in the social rented sector to commence.

Lord Greenhalgh: In the Charter for Social Housing Residents – Social Housing White Paper published on 17 November 2020, we commit to consult on measures to ensure that social housing residents are protected from harm caused by poor electrical safety. Subsequently, we committed to form an official-led stakeholder working group to inform the content of the consultation.Work is underway to set up the working group. Working group meetings will take place prior to publishing the consultation. We will announce further details including timings in due course.

Cabinet Office

Coronavirus

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government why analysis of the number of (1) school workers, and (2) other key workers who had COVID-19, has not been included in ONS infection surveys since 6 November 2020; and what plans they have to publish such analysis for the period since 6 November 2020.

Lord True: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.  14 January 2021Dear Lord Jones, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking why analysis of the number of (1) school workers, and (2) other key workers who had COVID-19, has not been included in Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection surveys since 6 November 2020; and what plans there are to publish such analysis for the period since 6 November 2020 (HL11748).The ONS is committed to providing statistics for the public good and produce analysis which covers as many of our users’ needs as possible.Understanding occupational risk across all sectors is vitally important. As such we are conducting analysis across all occupations to gain a deeper understanding of all professions. This will include occupations within the education sector which we have previously published analysis on. We will publish this analysis in our monthly articles. Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925

Lord Garnier: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform or update the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.

Lord True: The Government currently has no plans to review the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. It is against the law to sell an honour or a peerage under the Act. Anyone who has evidence that an organisation or individual is claiming to be selling honours should be reported to the police.

Mortality Rates

Lord Framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total number of deaths in the UK in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, (4) 2018, (5) 2019, and (6) 2020.

Lord True: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond. 13 January 2021 Dear Lord Framlingham, As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what was the total number of deaths in the United Kingdom (UK) in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, (3) 2017, (4) 2018, (5) 2019, and (6) 2020 (HL11732). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for publishing the number of deaths registered in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. The most recent annual figures published for the UK as a whole are for deaths registered in 2019[1]. Therefore, to produce a provisional figure for 2020, we have totalled provisional estimates published independently by the ONS[2], NRS[3] and NISRA[4]. Table 1 below provides the registered number of deaths from all causes in the UK for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond  Table 1: Number of deaths registered, United Kingdom1,2,3,4   Number of deaths  20152016201720182019  2020p,4 UK602,782597,206607,172616,014604,707689,697 Source: ONS Notes:1 Figures are based on deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring, in the specified calendar year.2 Deaths statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration, a legal requirement.3 Deaths should be registered within five days of the date of death with the exception of Scotland where deaths should be registered within eight days. There are however a number of situations when the registration of a death will be delayed, for example deaths referred to coroners.4 The provisional estimates for 2020 are compiled using national estimates published by ONS, NRS and NISRA.[1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/vitalstatisticspopulationandhealthreferencetables[2] https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2021/01/12/counting-deaths-involving-coronavirus-a-year-in-review/[3] https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/covid19/annual-deaths-excess-deaths-1855-2020.xlsx[4] https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/monthly-deaths

Honours

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many nominations for honours were (1) received, and (2) awarded, broken down by region or nation in the UK.

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were nominatedfor honours above the level of OBE in the Sheffield city region; and how many such honours were awarded.

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the breakdown of honours received by region or nation in the UK as a percentage of the population of each such region or nation.

Lord True: Statistical information held in relation to the regional breakdown of recipients at all levels on the New Year Honours List 2021 can be found below. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal point. Data is collected using the county the recipient gives as their correspondence address (usually their home address rather than their places of origin) and is aggregated into regional figures. This data relates only to the main Prime Minister’s List and does not include data from the Defence List or the Overseas and International List, which are not administered by the Cabinet Office. Honours are awarded on the basis of merit. We are working to improve regional representation in the honours lists, including running events across the UK to raise awareness. A complete record of all nominations received is not held by the Cabinet Office. NY21 Regional dataREGIONTotal number of recipients from region% of NY21 list living in region% of UK population living in regionEAST1219.8%9.3%EAST MIDLANDS504%7.2%LONDON23018.7%13.4%NORTH EAST322.6%4.0%NORTHERN IRELAND816.6%2.8%NORTH WEST998%11.0%SCOTLAND1098.8%8.2%SOUTH EAST18014.5%13.7%SOUTH WEST907.3%8.4%WALES614.9%4.7%WEST MIDLANDS907.3%8.9%YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER907.3%8.2%CHANNEL ISLANDS / ABROAD60.5%n/a The Government does not collate data against such political administrative areas and cannot provide information regarding honours awarded in the Sheffield city region. However, the Government publishes transparency data, broken down by both town/city and county. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-year-honours-list-2021-cabinet-office.

Coronavirus: Death

Lord Balfe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average age of people who have had COVID-19 cited as a contributory cause of death in the last four weeks; how many such people were (1) 0–18, (2) 19–30, (3) 31–40, (4) 41–50, (5) 51–60, (6) 61–70, (7) 71–80, (8) 81–90, and (9) over 90, years old at the time of death; and in each cohort how many such deaths occurred in people with underlying health conditions.

Lord True: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.  14 January 2021Dear Lord Balfe,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what is the average age of people who have had COVID-19 cited as a contributory cause of death in the last four weeks; how many such people were (1) 0-18, (2) 19-30, (3) 31-40, (4) 41-50, (5) 51-60, (6) 61-70, (7) 71-80, (8) 81-90, and (9) over 90, years old at the time of death; and in each cohort how many such deaths occurred in people with underlying health conditions (HL11720).The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales. Information on deaths involving COVID-19 and pre-existing health conditions was published in July[1]. As part of deaths registered weekly in England and Wales[2], the ONS produces the number of deaths involving COVID-19 by age group. Table 1 provides the number of deaths involving COVID-19 by age group in the last four weeks.Table 2 is the mean and median age at death of those whose death involves COVID-19 and for all deaths in the last 4 weeks.Table 3 shows deaths involving COVID-19 where there is no pre-existing condition against total COVID-19 deaths for that age cohort. Data is available from March 2020 to June 2020, however we will be resuming publication of this data within the next 6 weeks. Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond  Table 1: Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales involving COVID-19 by age group, Week ending 4 December to Week ending 25 December 2020[3],[4],[5],[6],[7]Week number49505152Week ended04-Dec-2011-Dec-2018-Dec-2025-Dec-20Deaths by age group 00001-400005-9000010-14010015-19010020-24101025-29330130-34311335-39976540-441211101245-492119252150-544137434155-596265756360-6410512611910765-6917015417716070-7428825825227575-7941440038839780-8450949254458385-8959857060960590+599611736639Source: ONS   Table 2: Average age of deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, Week ending 4 December to Week ending 25 December 20203,4,5,6,7Week number49505152Week ended04-Dec-2011-Dec-2018-Dec-2025-Dec-20All deathsMedian age81818282Mean age78787979Deaths involving COVID-19Median age83838383Mean age81818181 Source: ONS   Table 3: Number of deaths involving COVID-19, by age group and whether a pre-existing condition was present, England and Wales, deaths occurring between March and June 2020[8],[9],[10],[11],[12]AgeAll deaths involving COVID-19COVID-19 deaths with pre-existing condition COVID-19 deaths with no pre-existing condition 0-4454244110145-494573669150-5484772412355-591,4531,22622760-642,0651,83523065-692,7912,49829370-744,6274,22040775-796,6936,17451980-849,5888,88969985-8910,3279,52580290+10,9459,961984 [1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsinvolvingcovid19englandandwales/deathsoccurringinjune2020[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest[3] Deaths where COVID-19 (ICD10 codes U07.1 and U07.2) are mentioned anywhere on the death certificate[4] For deaths registered from 1st January 2020, cause of death is coded to the ICD-10 classification using MUSE 5.5 software. Previous years were coded to IRIS 4.2.3, further information about the change in software is available.[5] Does not include deaths where age is either missing or not yet fully coded.[6] Does not include deaths of those resident outside England and Wales or those records where the place of residence is either missing or not yet fully coded.[7] These figures represent death registrations, there can be a delay between the date a death occurred and the date a death was registered. More information can be found in our impact of registration delays release. [8] Figures include deaths of non-residents[9] Figures are provisional[10] Based on deaths involving COVID-19 (ICD-10 codes U07.1 and U07.2) rather than deaths where COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death[11] Deaths occurring between March and June 2020 rather than deaths registered between March and June 2020[12] Including deaths registered up until 4 July 2020.

Department for International Trade

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that any existing unlimited-value open licences for the export of military equipment do notpermit anygovernments considered to have human rights concerns to receive weapons or ammunition without sufficientscrutiny and end-use verification; andwhat plans they have tocease the issue of such licences to such countries.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the ‘Consolidated Criteria’). In reaching a decision, the Department for International Trade (DIT) receives advice from a number of Departments including the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Together, we draw on all available information, including reports from Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and our diplomatic missions. The Consolidated Criteria provides a thorough risk assessment framework and requires us to think hard about the impact of exporting any items. A licence will not be issued if to do so would be inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression. We are able to review licences – and suspend or revoke as necessary – when circumstances require, in line with the Consolidated Criteria. We have no plans to cease the issue of open licences.

Medical Equipment: Export Controls

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce export licensing controls for equipment used for the removal, freezing, or transportation, of organs to countries where there have been credible reports of forced organ harvesting.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: My Rt Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary’s statement of 12 January 2021 on the situation in Xinjiang committed HM Government to a review of export controls as they apply specifically geographically to the situation in Xinjiang, to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to prevent the export of any goods that could directly or indirectly contribute to human rights violations in that region.

Trade Agreements: China

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks made byViscount Younger of Leckie on 7 December 2020 (HL Deb, col 1085), what plans they have to enter free trade negotiations with the government of China in the future; and what human rights due diligence they will employ during any such negotiations to ensure that theUK does not support the exploitation ofUighur Muslims in China.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: HM Government has no plans at present to negotiate a free trade agreement with China.The United Kingdom has long supported the promotion of our values globally and has consistently voiced concern at the situation in Xinjiang. On 12th January, the Foreign Secretary announced a series of measures to help ensure that no British businesses will profit from or contribute to violations against the Uyghurs or other minorities. These measures send a clear message to China that there are economic and reputation costs for what it is doing in Xinjiang.